Bottle carrier



March 19, 1957 H. w. FORRER 2,735,327

BOTTLE CARRIER Original Filed Sept. 30, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. #04446"? H. I v/PR6)? ATT'OIF/VE/S H. W. FORRER BOTTLE CARRIER March 19, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Sept. 30, 1949 r INVENTOR. HOME/P m FORRE/P BY fiwzz M4 fldmoe ATTOR EV NN Wm l l l l II March 19, 1957 H. w. FORRER BOTTLE CARRIER 4 Shee ts-Sheet 3 Original Filed Sept. 30, 1949 2 6 4 81 0 a a 3 a 1*: P z i 6 6 a 6 a u ||1|11|| 11 A \l I}. H 4 4 6 3 z INVENTOR. 20 '1 7 HQMEI? W. Pom/P57? ATTORNEYS H. W. FORRER BOTTLE CARRIER March 19, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Fil ed Sept. 30, 1949 INVENTOR. HOME/P 14. P095467? HTTOP/YEYJ United States Patent BOTTLE CARRIER 118,770. Divided and this application September 9, 1952, Serial No. 310,609

2 Claims. (Cl. 220-113) This invention relates to a carrier for bottles, and more particularly to a collapsible bottle carrier formed from a blank of paperboard or the like, so that it is foldable to either a flat collapsed position for shipping or storage, or to an erect position for loadingwith bottles. This is a division of my copending application Serial No. 118,770, filed September 30, 1949, now Patent No. 2,646,918.

The present invention constitutes an improvement of the invention disclosed in my copending application, Ser. No. 35,389, filed June 26, 1948, now Patent No. 2,537,- 452, in which a bottle carrier is disclosed having a uniquely arranged handle portion by which the carrier structure is rendered particularly strong and sturdy, and which allows the carrier to be formed in an entirely symmetrical pattern so that it presents a neat, balanced appearance. Another feature of the bottle carrier disclosed in my above noted copending application is an arrangement of the bottom wall panel so that it folds inwardly between the side wall panels to collapsed position.

This latter feature not only provides a more compact arrangement of the carrier in collapsed position, but the inward folding of the bottom wall panel also results in an inward springing tendency of the bottom wall panel in erect position so that when erected, and before filling with bottles, the carrier rests on the bottom wall panel only adjacent each side wall panel and is thereby conditioned for standing alone until filled with bottles. This is an important feature because it allows the carrier to be used with great facility in automatic loading equipment as carriers formed in this manner will naturally maintain a proper erect position to receive the bottles being loaded automatically.

According to'the present invention, these features are incorporated in a bottle carrier with the further improvement of the provision of entirely closed ends for the carrier, which are often desired or required to protect the bottles adequately, or to provide for display of particular advertising indicia to the best advantage.

In my above noted copending application, the inward folding of the bottom wall panel was allowed by reason of the fact that only end partition strips were used at the ends of the carrier so that adequate clearance was provided for inward folding of the bottom wall panel.

It will be recognized, however, that if these end partition strips were extended to close the ends of the carrier entirely, they would normally prevent inward foldingv of the bottom wall panel; and it is a fact, in so far as I am aware, that every collapsible bottle carrier heretofore proposed with entirely closed ends has employed as a matter of course an outwardly folding bottom wall panel. The tendency of such outwardly folding bottom wall panels is naturally to spring outwardly inerect position, so that the carrier will not maintain itself in erect position, because the outwardly springing central portion of the bottom wall panel will cause it to topple over, so that special provision must be made for handling such bottle carriers in automatic bottle. loading equipment.

The present invention provides a collapsible bottle carrier in which the advantages of an inwardly folding bottom wall panel and entirely closed ends for the carrier are combined. These advantages are combined according to the present invention by incorporating opposed pairs of end panels in the carrier which extend from each side wall panel of the carrier and are foldably joined to the carrier handle portion for folding medially of the carrier to a collapsed position. These opposed pairs of end panels are formed in an extent completely closing the ends of the carrier, but below the handle portion'the extending edges of at least one pair of the end panels are arranged free for a distance above their bottom edges sufiicient to provide clearance for accommodating the inward folding of the bottom wall panel.

According to the illustrated embodiment of the invention the end panels are arranged so that they not only allow the inward folding of the bottom wall panel to obtain the advantages noted above, but are also disposed to allow natural disposition of the erected bottom wall panel, due to the above noted inward springing tendency, between the opposed pairs of end panels so that when erected the carrier may be locked in erect position, and thereby further facilitate the handling of the carrier in automatic bottle loading equipment.

The bottle carrier of the present invention is described in further detail below in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a bottle carrier, in erect position, embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of this bottle carrier i collapsed position; v

Fig. 3 is a side view of the bottle carrier in erect position, partly cut away to show the relative disposition of the bottom wall panel and the end panels is erect position;

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail taken substantially on the line 44 in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail taken substantially on the line 55 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional detail taken substantially on the line 66 in Fig. 4, and indicating in dotted lines the manner in which the end panels accommodate inward folding of the bottom wall panel; and

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the blank used for forming the bottle carrier illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the bottle carrier of the present invention comprises generally a handle portion 10 and a bottle supporting portion 12. The handle portion 10 is formed by overlapping pairs of panels 14 and 16 which are secured in overlapping relation and arranged to provide a hand grip as at 18, all as described more particularly in my above noted copending application, to which reference is made for further details. The bottle supporting portion 12 comprises a bottom wall panel 20 and opposed side wall panels 22, as also disclosed in my copending application, together with opposed pairs of end panels 24 extending from the side wall panels 22 to the handle portion 10 and com pletely closing the ends of the carrier in accordance with the present invention.

The bottom wall panel 20 is formed with a medial fold line 26 adapting it for folding inwardly between the side wall panels 22 'to collapsed position, as previously mentioned, and the opposed side wall panels 22 are joined at each side of the bottom wall panel 20 along fold lines as at 28, one of which defines a glue flap 2% adapted to be secured to the bottom wall panel 20. The opposed pairs of end panels 24 which extend from the side wall panels at fold lines 30 are also fold'ably joined to the handle portion along fold lines at 32' by flaps-'34, which are folded and secured between the pairs'of panels 14 and 16 forming the handle portion 10. As the handle portion 19' is centrally disposed with respect to the side wall panels 22,

the opposed pairs of end panels 24 are'likewise adapted for folding medially of the carrier to a collapsed position as illustrated in Fig. 2. Spaced partition strips 36 may also be arranged between the side walls 22 and the handle portion 10, as disclosed in my above noted copending application, for folding to collapsed position.

It has already been noted that the opposed pairs of end panels'24 are formed in an extent completely closing the ends of the carrier, and it should befuither noted that below the point at which these end panels 24 are joined to'the handle portion 10 the extending edges of at least one pair of the'end panels'24 are disposed entirely free of each other. ln the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 7, the extending edges of both pairs of end panels are arranged free, for example, below'the point 38. The extending edges of the end panels 24 are arranged free in this manner for a distance above their bottom edges sufficient to allow clearance for the inward folding of the bottom wall panel 29 between the side wall panels 22, as illustrated best in Fig. 5 of the drawing, and from which it will be recognized that the distance for which the extending edges of the end panels 24 are arranged free must be. at least equal to one-half the width of the bottom wall panel 20.

As mentioned above, this inward folding of the bottom wall panel 29 arranges the bottle carrier with considerable more compactness in collapsed position than if the bottom wall panel 28 folded outwardly. More importantly, however, the inward folding of the bottom wall panel results in a tendency for inward springing of the bottom wall panel 26 about the medial fold line 26 in erect position, so that in erect position the bottle carrier is supported in a stable manner adjacent the side wall fold lines 28 and will accordingly stand alone.

' Moreover, an inwardly folded bottom wallpanel 20 having this inward springing tendency cooperates uniquely with the opposed pairs of end panels 24 to provide for locking the bottle carrier in erect position. This is illustrated best in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawing. As previously noted, the inward springing tendency of the bottom wall panel 20 causes it to spring inwardly about the media-l fold line 26, and as the opposed end panels 24 are formed in an extent completely closing the ends of the carrier, the bottom wall panel 20 will accordingly have a tendency to spring upward at its central portion above the bottom edges of the end panels 24 so that when the bottle carrier is shifted to erect position this inward springing tendency of the bottom wall panel 20 allows it to be snapped to a natural dispostion between the opposed pairs of end panels 24 and thereby lock the end'panels and consequently the carrier against collapsing.

The blank shown in Fig. 7 of the drawing follows gen-' eraly the form illustrated and described in my above noted copending application, and accordingly does not require detailed description here. The principal different'feature in the blank'shown in Fig. 7 is the form of the opposed end panels 24, which; as already explained, are formed in an extent for completely closing the ends of the carrier and further are arranged so that their extending edges are free from their bottom edges to the point 38.

I These end panels 24 are preferably formed so that their free extending edges extend in overlappingrelation. It will be noted, for example, in Fig. 7 that the extending edges of the panels 24 extend at 40 beyond the fold lines 32 alb'ng which the panels 2 1 are rename joined to the flaps 34 of the handle portion 19, so that these extending edges at 4% will overlap when the carrier is shifted to erect position, as shown best in Figs. 1 and 4. This overlapping disposition of the freeextending edges of the end panels 24 has a good effect in strengthening end panels 24 and may usually be employed to good advantage for this purpose. An adequate overlapping disposition of the free extending edges 40 of the end panels 24 in this manner be employed without in any way hampering the inward folding of the bottom wall panel 20, as the medial folding of the end panels to collapsed position naturally results-in spreading the' free extending edges 49 somewhat, and by pressing them inward. slightly, the bottom wall anel 26 can he slipped between them easily for folding between the side wall panels 22.

I claim:

'l. A collapsible cairier for bottles and other similar containers comprising a bottom wall panel, opposed side wall panels associated with said bottom wall panel, a

handle portion for said carrier arranged centrally withv respect to said side wall panels, and opposed pairs of end panels extending from said side wall panels to said handle portion and completely closing the ends of said carrier, said bottom wall panel being formed with a medial fold line adapting it for medial folding inwardly between said side wall panels in collapsing the carrier and tending as a result of said inward folding to spring inwardly at said medial fold line when said carrier is shifted to erect position, said end panels of said opposed pairs each being foldably joined along an upper portion of adjacent edges thereof remote from and parallel to said side wall panels to inwardly turned and medially disposed flap members extending downwardly from said handle portion whereby said pairs of end panels are likewise adapted for folding medially of said carrier, the adjacent edges of said pairs of end panels and the flap members foldably joined thereto being free below said handle portion with said flap members terminating above the bottom edges of 'said end panels at a distance equal at least to one half the width of said medially foldabl'e bottom wall panel and thereby providing clearance for accommodating the inward folding of said bottom wall panel between said side wall panels, the inward springing tendency of said bottom wall panel allowing natural disposition of said bottom wall panel between said opposed pairs of end panels for locking said carrier in erect position, and adjacent edge portions of said pairs of end panels extending in overlapping relation below said flap members for reinforcing said pairs of end, panels in erect position. 5

2. A -collapsible carrier for bottles and other similar containers comprising a bottom wall panel, opposed side wall panels associated with said bottom wall panel, a bandle portion for said carrier arranged centrally with respect to said side wall panels, and opposed pairs of end panels extending from said side wall panels to said handle portion and completely closing thefend's of said carrier, said bottom wall panel being formed with a medial fold line adapting it for medial folding inwardly between said side wall panels in collapsing the carrier and tending as a result of said inward folding to spring inwardly at said medial fold line when said carrier is shifted to erect position, said end panels of said opposed pairs each being foldably joined along an upper portion of adjacent edges thereof to inwardly turned and medially disposed flap, members, said flap members being secured at the upper ends thereof to portion but terminating above the bottom edges of said end panels at a distance equal at least to one half the width of said medially foldable bottom wall paneL and thereby providing clearance for accommodating the in ward folding of said bottom wall panel between said side wall panels, the inward springing tendency of said bottom wall panel allowing natural disposition of said bottom wall panel between said opposed pairs of end panels for locking said carrier in erect position, and adjacent edge portions of said pairs of end panels extending in overlapping relation below said flap members for reinforcing said pairs of end panels in erect position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Crane Nov. 24, 1942 Ringler Oct. 3, 1944 Holy Apr. 1, 1947 

